Maltese teachers’ beliefs concerning the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning

Farrugia, M. T. and Trakulphadetkrai, N. V. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0706-7991 (2020) Maltese teachers’ beliefs concerning the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning. Cogent Education, 7 (1). 1817253. ISSN 2331-186X doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2020.1817253

Abstract/Summary

This exploratory mixed-methods study set out to explore Maltese primary school teachers’ perceived barriers to, and enablers for, the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching. Data were collected by means of an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, and analysed thematically using Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour. The responses given by the participants showed that integration of mathematics and stories was not a common practice. The perceived barriers were categorised as Resource Constraint, Time Constraint, Lack of Pedagogical Knowledge and Confidence, Doubts about Outcome Expectancy, and Inhibiting Social Norms while the three perceived enablers identified were Pedagogical Benefits, Love of Stories, and Enabling Social Norms. Given that the majority of the participating teachers acknowledged the potential benefits of the approach and expressed a wish for training, one key recommendation of the study is for teaching mathematics through stories to be explicitly included in pre-service and in-service professional development programmes.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/92807
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/2331186X.2020.1817253
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > Institute of Education > Improving Equity and Inclusion through Education
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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